BBC NEWS | Education | Call for more university links "Widening participation in higher education should be seen as talent spotting by universities. This prospectus sets out how we want them to make that happen."

The problem with the typical macro predictors of university (or other) success is that they are often too crude and based on last-decade's research. They might work over large populations but not necessarily work all that well when applied to any given individual. But the idea of 'talent spotting' is very intriguing. Particularly if we go even further and apply the analogy of professional sports scouts as they are known in the US.

BBC NEWS | Education | Democracy 'holds back education' The education system should be freed from local democracy if it is to meet the challenge of global competition, a leading educationist says.

This supposed conflict between democracy and education seems like something that should be discussed more.

The recent 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch produced a veritable chorus of reminiscences and soul searching about the past and future of science education in the West.

Metaphors and analogies are a tricky business. They open up a lot of possibilities but how they are acted out in practice is not always predictable. This particular metaphor challenges us in one sense, learning is like loosing weight, i.e.